


The Roads That Led Us Here

by thesalukihusker



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-14
Updated: 2019-09-14
Packaged: 2020-10-18 03:51:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20632634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesalukihusker/pseuds/thesalukihusker
Summary: Jonathan and Nancy's journey from when they leave the Lab to the end of season 2.





	The Roads That Led Us Here

**Author's Note:**

> follows Jonathan and Nancy from 2x04 to the end of season 2, as things change between them. There were a lot of things we didn't see during that time; hopefully this fills in some gaps. I don't own Jancy, I just ship them.

It's already late afternoon when Nancy and Jonathan leave Hawkins Lab. This time of year, darkness comes early. They have a long drive ahead of them, but neither are tired. The adrenaline, and the need to avenge what's happened, keep them focused. 

Jonathan's mixtape ends, and Nancy scans the radio stations for something else to listen to. The silence makes both very aware of the tension between them, of the things they need to talk about. She finds a station just as Patti Smith starts singing that  _ desire is hunger is the fire I breathe.  _

Nancy quickly changes the station. Jonathan glances at her, and then shifts uncomfortably in the driver's seat. She opens the glove box, grabs another mixtape. It's warm in here all of a sudden.  _ We're just friends,  _ Nancy keeps telling herself. But she and Steve broke up, and Jonathan has been here for her, and there's something about him that gives her butterflies...

###

_ I want them off. _

Jonathan rolls his eyes and flips the light off in their room at the Motor Motel. It's almost midnight; tomorrow, they're meeting with Murray Bauman.  _ Things were going so well,  _ Jonathan thinks. Deja vu. Comparing the scars that'll tie them together for the rest of their lives, A Jonathan Byers pep talk about the world not ending. And then it all derailed when Nancy asked _ what happened to us? _

His mind is racing. There are so many things Jonathan wants to say.  _ You tell me, Nancy. What did happen to us? Was there ever an us? Would there have been an us?  _ He's tired of denying his feelings. It's exhausting. It's frustrating. They still have an hour and a half to go tomorrow before they arrive in Sesser. 

Jonathan is wide awake, staring at the wall of this motel room in the middle of nowhere, with its double beds and rude front desk clerk. Nancy is facing the other wall.  _ Maybe next time, we'll request a single.  _ He knows he won't get much sleep.

###

24 hours later, the door to the spare room slams shut behind them. They're grasping at each other, their actions speaking in place of the words they haven't been able to say. The sparks were already there. Murray's words, and their denials, start the fire. 

The words come eventually, too:  _ I've wanted this for so long, _ and  _ I'm not fighting this any longer,  _ and  _ I've never done this before,  _ and  _ you're everything to me.  _ They could keep trying to run from each other, or they could be together. Nancy and Jonathan choose the latter.

They're together twice that night. When Jonathan wakes up early the next morning, the worry sets in.  _ Was this a one-time thing? _

###

They're racing toward the Byers' house, Will and Joyce in the back seat. Something horrible happened inside the Lab. Will is sedated. Joyce is in shock. Bob is dead. Jonathan feels sick. He drives faster, wanting to get them as far away from the Lab as possible.

Nancy knows that worried look on his face. She wants to tell Jonathan that it'll be okay, that they had no way of knowing this would happen when they left town. At least that part she knows is true. 

She hopes Jonathan doesn't regret going with her, doesn't retreat from her like she had from him. So Nancy holds Jonathan's hand when it leaves the steering wheel for a second.  _ I'm not going anywhere.  _ He doesn't say the words, but he doesn't need to; the look in his eyes says  _ I'd fall apart without you. _

###

Will is awake. The Gate is closed. They saved him, and the world isn't going to end. The cabin is still hot, in spite of the chilly November evening. Joyce and Jonathan hold Will close, soothe him, tell him it's all over.

Nancy is outside when she hears footsteps behind her. She turns around just as Jonathan pulls her close, hugging her, telling her  _ you saved my family. It was all three of us,  _ she insists.  _ We did this together. _ She's starting to cry, finally letting the emotions come after the events of the past day. They're each other's support system. 

He kisses her for the first time since they left Murray's. They head back inside the cabin, hand-in-hand, and work together to get Will and Joyce settled in.

###

It's been two weeks since Will was saved and the Gate was closed. Jonathan is going back to school today. He picks Nancy up, and they talk during their short drive to about weekend plans. Things are returning to normal, a new normal for all of them. 

They only have one class together this semester, so Jonathan won't see her again until almost lunch time. He gives Nancy a quick kiss, handing her a note as they go separate directions for first period.

She sits in the back of English Lit and looks at the note. 

_ I love you. _

Nancy knows that whatever monsters they may face next, they'll handle them together.


End file.
